With a Childlike Devotion
by Shade Mimir
Summary: Zuko discovers where he truly belongs, and finds purpose in the company of his imprisoned sister. Will an innocent practice-kiss from their youth translate to to the present or will it become something much darker? AzulaxZuko Zucest WARNING!


A/N and Warning: Zucest, Zucest, Zucest! Zucest equals incest equals Zuko and Azula as the only pairing you're going to find here. If you're going to review with a flame, just click the back button now.

I make very few exceptions when it comes to incest. In other words, you probably won't catch me reading and KataraxSokka (Katokka, Sotara? Is there a silly little ship word for that yet? ) any time soon. Their relationship is very much brother - sister.

There's a weird vibe between characters like Zuko and Azula. It's difficult explain if you haven't already caught it. It's not romantic, and it's not lustful, but it still seems darkly loving to me. Honestly, this is the first het fiction I've written in a while. Hopefully, I managed a decent job of it. As was the case in "Tag", I've had no beta.

Coincidently, this is something of a big brother to my previous fic, "Tag". I took some inspiration from it, added a dash of Zucest, and expanded on the idea.

With a Childlike Devotion

By Shade Mimir

Mai and Zuko were a smart match.

"Isn't that cute?" Ursa would whisper to the nearest handmaiden as the two children would shyly recount their days to one another on the palace grounds "She'll be the woman he marries; a mother can tell."

"Oh? And what about Azula?"

Ursa's eyes would then shift to her daughter next. "That's hard to say." Her words words came always with a sigh, but not without affection. Her lips would purse then curve into a smile. Her eyes would close but she would continue to face her daughter contently. "If she sets her mind on someone though... Well, I would imagine that would be that, wouldn't it?"

"You'll look silly. Mai's kissed other boys before. I've seen it," Azula announced after dinner. Home was a stuffy place when the adults were talking politics and social happenings. The siblings often retreated to a more secluded spot, where they couldn't be told to quiet down.

Tonight's spot was a tall tree with strong branches. The children finished their dessert at their own pace, knowing there were still several hours left to use up before curfew.

"Lots of boys," Azula insisted. "I'm pretty sure one had a mustache."

Zuko had been holding his own small cake to the sky, discovering it to be larger than the moon when he closed one eye. The illusion, however, didn't do much to keep him from hearing his sister's words.

"You're a liar, Azula," he said, though the statement was without much confidence.

"Did she ever tell you she _hadn't _kissed someone before?" Azula asked, licking the cake's honey glaze from her fingers in a very precise manner.

She had him there. Mai had never talked to him about kissing, and he would never dare think to bring it up. "Well, no, but-"

"You'll look silly," Azula sang in reprise. "I'm only trying to be helpful, Zuzu."

"It seems weird," Zuko insisted, his words muffled as he took a bite of his dessert. Having seemingly lost his appetite after that, he threw the small cake off towards the turtle-duck pond rather than offering it to his sister. Out of the corner of one eye he noticed her make a noticeable effort to ignore the sleight.

"Think of it as... practice," she pressed, smiling confidently. Obviously, she was sure she had won whether Zuko realized this yet or not. "Of course, if you're afraid of even this, I can't see how you and Mai will ever-"

"All right!" Zuko leaned forward, only to have the breath knocked from him as Azula planted a firm palm to his chest.

The incredulous look the small girl gave her brother belied her young age. "What do you think think you're doing?"

"I-You said to..." Suddenly, Zuko was very afraid this had all been a trap to get him into trouble.

"The woman always go first, Zuzu, remember that," Azula said with more confidence than any learned tutor the two had ever shared.

Zuko would have been impressed had he not been so sure she was wrong. "That's not true. Father-"

"When I say woman, I mean who's in charge." It was difficult to tell whether Azula was correcting herself or Zuko. "I'll always be right here, Zuzu." Azula held her right hand out, laying her palm flat just a few inches from her nose.

Azula's left hand dropped even with her chest. "You'll be just here." She smiled as Zuko tensed at the insult. "Or maybe down there," she laughed, pointing toward the base of the tree. "It doesn't matter who you're with, Zuzu; _they _get to make the first move"

It was often easier to just let Azula have her way. When things escalated into fights, as they often did, she was usually the winner. "Fine," he muttered, glancing away as Azula leaned forward.

Zuko's cheeks grew warm when he felt his sister's lips upon his. In order to get her way with mother, she'd given him a deceptive little peck on the cheek before, but this seemed wrong. He began to pull away.

Azula gripped her brother's upper-arms as their lips parted. "If you don't get to make the first move, you don't get the last one either," she reminded him with a firm, painful squeeze.

It was several long moments before the pain faded and Zuko realized that he was being kissed again. He sat still this time and found that, to his relief, it was finished quickly.

Zuko's eyes darted to his sister, and he thought he caught the slightest pink hue to her cheeks under the moonlight filtering through the branches overhead. She had mirrored his own movements, one hand raised to her lips as if to wipe them.The only factor keeping him from the action itself was the off-chance that he might offend Azula. He doubted she held the same fears.

"That wasn't bad," Zuko offered. "It seems like you've kissed... loads of boys."

He was only trying to be helpful, but the comment still earned him a punch to the shoulder.

"Ow! Fine, you're a lousy kisser!" Zuko returned the punch, no longer caring if he offended Azula or not. "I'm sorry I ever lis-"

As Zuko lay on the ground, staring up at his sister, he couldn't help but wonder what she thought of him as a kisser. Naturally, his forcible departure from the tree had made it very difficult to inhale, much less ask any such question.

--

Zuko had never felt so uncomfortable. He could blame the clothes for part of that, surely. They were quite expensive and very well made which, naturally, translated to heavy and cumbersome when actually worn. He was a little afraid to move in them, lest the robes snag or stain or spontaneously combust into flame from, well, any number of things in the _Fire _Nation.

More daunting than any of this, however, was what came in the morning. He felt far too young to marry, though he knew that wasn't so. The Fire Nation needed this, they told him. His family needed this they told them, they told them.

_They _said a lot of things, and Zuko was often afraid _they _were right.

Zuko loved Mai. He loved her bleak sense of humor and her courage and the occasional smile. She was certainly his best friend, and there was no one else Zuko could even fathom marrying.

Even so...

"Prince Zuko, where are you-"

"Out," Zuko said shortly, ignoring the bewildered faces of the servants as he left his chambers. They wouldn't dare stop him. The only person Zuko could imagine stopping him now would be Mai, and she was undoubtedly far too busy trying to escape her parent's prideful fussing.

Luckily, most everyone working in the palace who was not still asleep had busied themselves at the front. There were few to give a second glance to the well-dressed prince slipping out the back and into the night.

The tower in the distance stood black against the dark sky. Zuko knew his way to it well enough. He knew it reached as low as it did high, and he knew what he needed was very deep inside.

Two sleepy-looking guards were on duty out front. They stood ready when they noticed a figure approaching. The aggressive act was dropped quickly and more confused expressions assumed. "Prince Zuko, why-"

"Just forget I'm here." Zuko knew that wouldn't work, but the guards seemed to get the idea anyway. Selecting a torch from just inside the door, he lit it with a careful hand gesture.He was still uncomfortable maneuvering in the clothes he was wearing. Handling a flame all the way downstairs was out of the question.

There were fewer and fewer guards the lower Zuko went. His presence earned him the expected questions and odd looks, but Zuko dealt with these easily. Respect was an odd thing. Zuko couldn't say he was particularly fond of all the attention, but the power it commanded was impressive. It was without any resistance at all that he found himself at the bottom-most level.

The guard at the final door seemed less willing to give up her post. Her eyes widened and a compelling argument as to why she couldn't let him in seemed to die in her throat.

"I'll be right out," Zuko promised, holding out his hand. He noticed the guard's face twist into a horrified expression as she realized he wanted the keys.

"I'm sorry- I- In the morning there's the wedding. I don't know, shouldn't you- Aren't there still things for you to do?" she asked uncertainly. This was a post for fighters not linguists. In any other situation, a visitor would have been turned away long before they made it to this point.

"That's what I'm doing now. Just give me the key." Zuko's voice was not without sympathy for the woman, though he did his best to sound as commanding as possible. She relinquished the key-ring with only the faintest of pained expressions.

There were more locks than Zuko had expected, several so new they surely must have been added just for her. Even the Boiling Rock had been considered an unwise solution to the issue of where to keep her. Given his last, particularly unimpressive visit there, Zuko felt obliged to agree.

The door closed heavily behind Zuko, and he thought he heard movement from the far corner of the room. There was little light already. He mounted the torch in hand on the wall near the bars of the cell and was unimpressed with the effect. It seemed to cast more shadows than light. The corner where he suspected movement was still left in the dark.

Luckily, she had never really been one to hide. Someone sat up in the corner, stretching languidly before standing and crossing over to the heavy iron bars of the cell.

"Zuzu," Azula said with enough false warmth to leave Zuko chilled. "I was beginning to think you'd never come to visit me."

"No you weren't." It was easy enough to call his sister's bluff as she took a seat across from him. Perhaps a proper bath wouldn't have hurt. Her hair wasn't styled. Her nails weren't manicured. Her makeup had not been applied. None-the-less, she still looked strong and prideful. Her eyes were calm and calculating and the way she carried herself, anything but resigned. She had been expecting him."It hasn't even been that long since they put you here."

"Hasn't it?" Azula motioned to, perhaps, the lack of windows. "It's so difficult to tell. But, you're looking sharp, Zuzu. Oh, my apologies, _Fire Lord _Zuzu."

Zuko glared at his sister, not sure which part of what she'd said to correct. "I'm no Fire Lord; not yet."

A familiar gleam returned to Azula's eyes. Zuko had no doubt that she'd found her opening. Once she had forced her way inside, there was little stopping her. "But soon. When?"

"In the morning."

"Poor brother. The stress is terrible, I'm sure." Her concern was fake and obviously so. Somehow Zuko still found it more comforting than the many words of, genuine, reassurance he'd received these last few weeks.

"There's a wedding too."

At this, Azula was unable to mask genuine dismay. "Of course," she managed. "To _Mai_ I assume."

It hadn't been a question, but Zuko nodded anyway. It felt awkward simply sitting there without a response. He could tell Azula was making a visible effort not to say anything to insult her brother's bride-to-be. Zuko was sure there was still something she wanted from him.

"So, you want my blessing, is that it?" Azula smiled bitterly, implying he would receive no such congratulations from her.

"No," Zuko said immediately. He looked away, suddenly not at all sure why he'd come here. This had been a very silly idea. If anything, it would start rumors he simply couldn't afford. The Fire Nation's resolve was shaky enough presently as things stood.

To think that Zuko could handle the responsibility of reformation was insane. He'd barely come to terms with all the change himself. There was no chance he could succeed his father as Fire Lord. Mai, of course, would be there for him. There was his friendship with Aang. Support from the Avatar went a long way these days. He had the connections for the job. He even had the blood, but the resolve... that was something he was sorely lacking. Part of him, a very large part, didn't want this new role he'd been cast to play.

Zuko tensed as surprisingly gentle fingers grazed his cheek. "My poor, stupid brother," Azula whispered, her arms extending until she held her brother's face in her hands.

Zuko's first reaction was to pull away. This struck him as dangerous as soon as he felt Azula's left hand lower itself to his shoulder.

"Of course the wedding will be a laugh," Azula mused, delicately tracing Zuko's scar with her fingertips."And then after the wedding..." Her expression brightened to mock realization. "Oh, Zuzu, is that why you came here? I wouldn't be too worried about _performing_. You must have gotten plenty of practice from Mai. I'm sure she put out, that little-"

"Azula!"

"-_thoughtful _girl," Azula finished without missing a beat. "So, if you didn't come for a blessing, I suppose you wanted practice."

Finally, Zuko pulled away or, at least, attempted to. The hand on his shoulder tightened, preventing him from going too far without putting up a fight. "That isn't-"

Azula laughed, shaking her head to silence him. "I was only joking. I don't doubt you have a little more experience in that area than I do anyway. You _do _remember our kiss, don't you? - your first kiss, I believe.

It had been his first and, as he understood it, Azula's as well. He'd never forgotten it. He'd lived with the regret of it for most of his life. "I remember."

"A lot of people will be watching tomorrow, hmm?" Azula asked, the thumb of her right hand, grazing Zuko's lower-lip suggestively.

Zuko tried his best to ignore his sister's actions though it was, admittedly, a very difficult thing to do. He was quite certain she knew it was getting to him as well. "I guess."

"Nervous?"

It wasn't the impending kiss with his future wife that made Zuko nervous. He gave a vague shrug of indifference.

"Oh, Zuzu, just open the door. You can practice again. I don't mind; that's just the sort of sister I am." The smile on Azula's face was a knowing one. She was aware of just how uncomfortable all of this was making Zuko. It was for this reason that Zuko was surprised when her hand lowered from his mouth, settling instead on the middle of his chest.

"You were always too serious. I was only joking," she said, the rough way in which she pushed him back almost a kindness. "You know, I really can't remember what made me want to kiss you so much as a little girl."

Zuko rose to his feet a little unsteadily. His mind felt foggy and his thoughts much too thick. For reasons he couldn't place, none of this was making any sense.

"I suppose I just wanted to be kissed," Azula continued, smiling again as her tone turned sarcastic, "As difficult as it might be for you to believe, most boys were afraid of me."

"They still are," Zuko said at last, regaining some coherent thought patterns.

The comment appeared to pique Azula's interest. "Are you?"

"No." It was the truth. Zuko was afraid of sister's temper, of the consequences it might have. He had never been afraid of Azula, herself.

Zuko moved to leave the room, still uncertain as to why he had come. Being here made him feel sick. It brought back memories he would sooner forget when his time would be better spent preparing with the others above. If he left now, perhaps he could even avoid any bothersome questions regarding his absence.

"Zuko, wait! If you aren't afraid... open the cell-door. I don't need both doors open - just this one. I... _need_ it open."

It wasn't the slightest hint of desperation in Azula's voice that turned Zuko's head. With all this time at her disposal, with her malicious nature, knowing her brother so very well... was this the best Azula could manage?

Zuko groaned inwardly. If any of it had been planned, it was quite the checkmate on her part.

The clang of iron upon iron filled the tiny room. Heavy and old, the door was difficult to to unlock and even more difficult to slide open. Zuko managed, making a point to divide his attention evenly between his work and the looming threat that was his sister's newfound freedom.

"My hero," Azula breathed with a sigh of relief. She didn't bother venturing into the small space between the cell and the door to the staircase. She didn't even bother to stand. It seemed enough for her cage to simply be open. "I think you've earned that kiss."

_... earned that kiss._

The words hung awkwardly in the air for Zuko. Azula had not left her cell, but _he _made the conscious decision to step inside before sitting down again. When the silence went on, Azula spoke up again, "And just what do you think you're doing?"

Zuko's response should no longer have held any meaning for either of them. There was nothing spectacular or especially poetic as he breathed only the word, "Waiting." It seemed to hold plenty of meaning for Azula however. The wicked smile spreading across her face was proof of that.

"I'm glad to hear that you remember my rules, Zuzu."

The kiss between them as children had been innocent and tentative. _This_ kiss was full of more emotions than Zuko cared to count.

He fell back against the stone wall as Azula wrapped her arms around him. Her hands explored his body shamelessly as if not willing to confine themselves to one role. Her mouth acted with inexperience but with the same calculated deliberance Azula always carried. While Zuko could feel her lips on his, he felt her teeth more than anything else. Biting and pulling and puncturing, she was trying to hurt him and she was doing it fondly.

"Mai told me once-" Azula gasped, as she pulled back. Zuko could see blood on her lips in the ever-morphing light. Her hands were getting more forceful as they failed to find any easier way to remove Zuko's ceremonial robes and proceeded to begin carelessly tearing fabric instead. "- told me that I didn't know people as well as I thought I did."

It was cold this far beneath the earth, much colder than Zuko had anticipated as his shoulders were exposed. Azula seemed set on remedying this, resuming her kissing, this time at her brother's neck. "But... I know _you_ Zuko... I know you more completely than she ever will."

It hurt. Zuko could taste blood. He could feel even more trickling down his back as Azula's teeth found purchase at the soft skin between neck and shoulder. Somehow, Zuko's heart still flooded with more affection for his sister than he had ever felt before.

"You're right," he said, his words thick as he tried to spit the blood in his mouth off to one side. He draped his arms around his sister, careful to still let her have control. It was what they both needed. This was the balance Zuko had been missing.

Fabric and flesh alike tore easily beneath Azula's long, sharp nails. Once you had an opening, it was simple to keep the tear running. She kissed her brother's chest, exhaling over his heart with breath like hot steam. She smiled as she felt Zuko jump and reached over her shoulder, taking one of his hands.

"And you know me," she admitted, kissing his fingertips with a serene smile. "You're the only one who ever will."

Zuko watched as Azula stood, still holding his hand with her own unique, twisted affection. She wiped the blood from her mouth and smoothed down her hair. "Are you ready?" she asked, giving Zuko's arm a smart tug upwards before releasing his hand.

His robes were thoroughly mangled, but Zuko gave a nod anyway. He tugged his sleeves up only to have the rips on the sides become more obvious. Only few seconds of incompetence earned more of Azula's attention. She fumbled with the robes herself before giving up on the lot of it and leaving Zuko's shoulders bare. "I think I'd rather everyone see my handiwork anyway," she declared, laughing derisively at the offense Zuko took to this.

"They _were _very nice clothes," Azula offered, stepping around her brother and resting her hands on his waist from behind."Seemed a little uncomfortable though. A little, I don't know... flammable."

"I was thinking the same thing just before I came down here." Zuko glanced back to his sister, catching a flicker of blue from her fingertips.

"It's for the best then." One hand left Zuko's waist, instead grabbing him roughly by the hair and pulling his head to one side.

Maybe it _was_ for the best. Then again, Zuko could already picture how upset Mai would be, how disappointed she would be in him... how disappointed everyone would be in him. Part of him wished he had time to explain everything to, but he knew she wouldn't be able to understand; no one would.

Of course, it wasn't as if he had much of a choice at this point anyway. Zuko had known how this would end the moment he'd opened the cell door.

He wondered how long Azula had known.

One had poised at her brother's neck, Azula took her first steps from the cell. She gave the second door a kick that gave Zuko the impression she was far too eager to attempt an escape with her brand new bargaining chip.

Zuko wondered how far they would make it. By the possessive way Azula was holding him, he doubted she had any intention of letting him go even if she managed some sort of escape. Of course, even if she did, Zuko had no intention of leaving his sister to her own devices, not again. The world was an especially dangerous place for her these days, and anything Azula could plan would never be quiet.

The Fire Nation would be fine. Zuko's place was here. Even Mai would recover over time. They had been quite a match, but as much as she cared for him, it was nothing compared to Azula's parasitic affections.

Zuko felt his sister's grip on him strengthen as the door finally slid open. Though Azula stood behind him, he knew where she truly was. She would always be above him - always above, but never out of reach.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Questions, comments, concerns? Review! If a particular phrase caught your attention, I want to hear it! If you were completely frustrated with how I worded something, and have critiques, I want to hear it! I'm not sure where to go with the concept of Zucest, so I would certainly like some feedback on that. Should I continue or abandon ship now?


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